Cyprus said it has received expressions of interest from Eni, Total, Statoil, ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum in a licensing round for offshore hydrocarbon blocks.
The country’s energy ministry made the announcement today.
Cyprus has placed three blocks up for exploration.
It said the most pronounced interest had been from two consortia and one company for an offshore sea block with close proximity to the Zohr field offshore Egypt.
In 2011, Cyprus found an estimated 4.5trillion cubic feet of natural gas in one prospect.